Waiting
by nkiing
Summary: AH. Soul mate: noun. A person with whom you have an immediate connection the moment you meet - a connection so strong that you are drawn to them in a way you have never experienced before. Clary and Jace have known each other for seventeen years. They have helped each other through any and every obstacle in their lives. What happens when something big comes between them?
1. The Announcement

**DISCLAIMER: I obviously don't own the characters, just the story line.**

**Enjoy!**

**tash.**

Clary woke up groggily, blinking as the sunlight spilled through her window and warmed her face. She stretched quickly and blew a red curl out of her face. Deciding she wasn't quite ready to start her day she rolled onto her side. As she repositioned herself, the sun bounced off the ring she was wearing on her left hand. She grinned as butterflies erupted in her stomach. She traced the diamond with her finger as her smile grew until her cheeks became soar.

"I'm engaged." She whispered to her self, still trying to wrap her head around the idea.

The diamond was quite a bit larger than anything she would have picked out for herself, but that hardly surprised he knowing her fiancé. Clary blushed at the word. Fiancé.

Clay tolled to her other side so she was facing the sleeping boy. He was laying on his stomach with his arms and head under the pillow. Clary traced the muscles of his back, feeling the dips and bumps until she finally reached his light hair. She tugged on it not so gently.

"Hey!" A still half asleep voice cried out.

Clary sat up, crossing her legs and laughed. She looked at him as innocently as possible.

"Good morning, Ms. Fray." He said grinning. She smiled.

"It's going to be weird not answering to that any more." She said thoughtfully.

"Should I call you by your soon-to-be name, then? To help you get used to it? Good morning Mrs-"

"No!" Clary cried, slapping her hand over his mouth. "It's bad luck."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled under her hand.

"You're the boss.'

Clary got out of bed, stretching once again. She looked at her reflection and frowned. She was twenty-two years old and yet majority of her thirteen year old art students were taller than her. She stood up on her toes and puffed out her chest before sighing in defeat.

"Five foot two it is then," she mumbled.

"Come on babe, it could be worse. You could be short _and_ fat."

"What was that, _darling_?" Clary asked calmly. He closed his mouth abruptly. Clary smirked before turning back to her reflection. "I look like I'm still sixteen. Seriously, look at all these stupid freckles!"

"Nothing make up can't fix."

Clary only shrugged her shoulders. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a light purple sweater. Deciding that she didn't want to deal with her hair just yet she put it on top of her head, securing it with two pencils. She struggled trying to pull on her Uggs while holding her phone, wallet and keys.

"I'm going to the grocery store. Will you help with dinner tonight?"

"Uh, I'll try, but I have to go into the office for a bit."

Clary nodded as she left her apartment.

Before Clary went to the grocery store she stopped into Java Jones to grab a coffee. She sat down at a small table and was flipping through a newspaper when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She looked up and saw one of her students, max, who was also her best friend's little brother.

"Hey Max!"

"Hi Clary." He said smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm here with some friends." His cheeks turned red. Clary raised an eyebrow.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something?"

"Well, they don't go to my school, so they don't know who you are."

"Okay…" She still didn't understand where things were going. He turned even redder and fixed his glasses. He huffed.

"They dared me to ask for a girls number and I saw you and I was wondering if maybe you could give me yours or even a fake one, it doesn't matter." He spoke quickly. Clary's eyes widened in understanding. "And well to be completely honest you look a lot younger than twenty two so it'll at least be believable.

"Sure thing Max, why don't you sit down?" He grinned, nodding his head as he sat. Clary laughed to herself when she saw him glance over to his friends, smirking. They watched in awe.

She pulled an old receipt out of her wallet and a pencil from her hair. She scribbled her a note for him.

840-826-4967

Call me

Clary xoxo

She slid the receipt to him. Glancing at his friends who quickly tried to pretend that were busy.

"Will that do?"

"Perfect! Thanks Clary, you're the best." As he stood to go back to his friend she grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Clary quickly kissed his cheek- leaving a light pink mark from her lip gloss- when she knew his friends were watching. She could hear them gasp from across the coffee shop. He turned bright red again and she winked.

Max ran back to his friends who all high fived him and slapped his back, they all looked to see that there was actually a number on the receipt.

Clary shook her head laughing and picked up her coffee, heading her step dad's bookstore across the street.

She heard the familiar chime as she opened the door. Luke looked up from behind the counter and grinned.

"Clary! What are you up to?"

"I was on my way to the grocery store so I thought I'd stop by quickly. You're coming tonight, right?"

"Of course! I have those art books you ordered." He said lifting a box from behind the counter.

"Great!"

"I'll bring them over tonight so you don't have to lug this to the grocery store and home." Clary smiled.

"You're a life saver, Luke." He winked.

"I try to be. So what's the occasion for this dinner? Should I wear a suit?" Luke joked.

Clary laughed, thinking to her self that he didn't even own a tie let alone a suit. "It's a surprise."

Luke started telling her about the student he had just hired meaning business was great. Half an hour later Clary headed to the grocery store.

Clary pushed her cart along the aisles grumbling to herself as shoppers bumped into her from all sides. Clary hated grocery shopping and on a Saturday as busy as today, she detested it. Hastily she filled her cart with all the ingredients for supper. She groaned, as she read out the total, feeding ten people was definitely not cheap.

…

When Clary walked into her apartment she mentally patted herself on the back for renting one on the ground floor. She dropped all the bags onto the kitchen counter, sighing in relief when she heard the TV on.

Clary walked around the corner into the living room and found Jace sitting on the couch with his feet on the coffee table watching a football game.

"Thank god, you're here." She said, he looked up with a smirk. Clary leaned against the doorframe, waiting for the sarcastic comment that was sure to follow.

"You'd be surprised at just how often I get that." She threw a pillow that was on the couch beside her at his head and laughed. He stood up and walked across the room, enveloping her into a tight hug. After a moment his grip on her loosened so she squeezed him harder; she wasn't quite ready to let go.

"I missed you," she breathed, his body shook slightly as he chuckled. He kissed the top of her forehead, speaking into her hair.

"I missed you too, Red. She smiled at the nickname. He'd been calling her that since the day they met; she was in kindergarten and he was in second grade.

_Four year old Clary sat on the bright blue carpet cross legged, frowning over a book-her favorite book. Her red hair was in two braids, but that didn't stop the fly away hairs from tickling her nose, she blew it out of her face angrily. She was trying to focus on the words- their buddy class that was tow years older than them would be there any minute to help them read and she wanted to be read- however her noisy classmates weren't being very helpful. She was reading, or at last trying to read her favorite book, The Giving Tree. She would have been enjoying herself thoroughly, had she been able to understand the words. She had gotten through the first two pages, slowly, but now she was stuck. _

_Clary was ready to throw the book across the room in frustration when she heard a chuckle beside her. She turned to the sound. She met gold eyes; they blinked. She looked at his gold hair and tried to decide on which of her crayons from her 64 pack would match them, but she couldn't think of one. This gold was far too pretty. _Maybe one of Mommy's paints would match it._ She thought to herself._

_"What's that?" the boy asked, pointing to the book._

_"It's a book, what does it look like?" The boy rolled his eyes._

_"I know that! I meant what book. Duh." Clary growled; she didn't like this boy._

_"It's The Giving Tree." She said quickly before going back to her attempt at reading._

_"Oh! I know that book, it's my favorite." Clary looked up, maybe he wasn't so bad after all. "You look like you can't read."_

_Never mind._

_Clary opened her mouth to protest when her teacher spoke._

_"Alright class, your reading buddies are here. They're in second grade, so they're here to help you read. Everyone partner up like Clarissa and Jonathan have."_

_"Clary!" she corrected loudly at the same time the boy yelled, "Jace!"_

_Jace sat down next to Clary, smiling._

_"So," he said, "let's read."_

_"I'm stuck," Clary admitted quietly. He leaned forward, his brow furrowed._

_"Huh?"_

_"I said I'm stuck!" she hissed, pointing to a word._

_"Okay, just sound it out." He said politely._

_"J….j…" She squinted._

_"Guh." Jace corrected. He shuffled closer to her._

_"Oh, guh… gath...er. Gather?" she looked up._

_"Perfect! Now try the whole thing."_

_"And he would gather her leaves." Clary said slowly, dragging her finger along the words._

_"See? You're doing great, Red!"_

_"Clary!" She corrected again, she tried to sound reprimanding, but she was still grinning from the new word she learned. Jace only smirked._

_The two children read the rest of the book together, slowly shuffling together until their elbows and knees were flush with each other. After watching Clary blow her hair out of her eyes for a fourth time he finally reached over and tucked it securely behind her ear. She smiled shyly before looking back down at the book._

Clary smiled up at Jace who returned her smile with a goofy grin of his own.

"What are you smiling at?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Clary stared at his mouth as he spoke. _Fiancé. Fiancé. Fiancé._

"Nothing." She said, pulling him towards the kitchen. "Did you see Sebastian at work today?"

"Uh yeah, he said to tell you he'd be here at 6:15." Clary huffed.

"I told him dinner is at 6."

"He said he's sorry?" Jace shrugged his shoulder; she rolled her eyes and began taking the groceries out of the bags.

"Lemme guess, fettuccine alfredo." Clary opened her mouth to answer. "With chicken and garlic bread."

"How'd you know?"

"It's hard not to know someone's favorite meal when you've known them for seventeen years." Clary grinned; Jace knew her better than anyone else, even her brother Jonathan who was coincidentally Jace's best friend. Jace knew everything about her, he knew what size she was at any store, he knew her favorite movies and books, he knew her favorite lines from books. He knew that if she ever had a son she would get a line from The Giving Tree tattooed on her to dedicate to him. It would say "and she loved the little boy, even more than she loved herself." And it would be on her left shoulder blade. He knew she loved the smell after it rained, but hated the smell before it rained. He knew that she didn't have a favorite color because they were all beautiful. He had everything about her memorized, and she with him.

They set to preparing the meal; moving around each other in the tiny kitchen fluidly. After a few minutes of silence, Jace began humming quietly. Clary paused to listen; she watched him out of the corner of his eye. She couldn't see him straight on, but she knew that his mouth would be in a thin line, and he was chewing on the insides of his cheeks and he was frowning. It was the face he made when he was concentrating. She often made fun of him for it, but in reality she loved his concentration face. It was rather endearing,

"What song is that?" she asked finally. Jace stopped chopping the onion for a moment.

"Oh, uh it's called Waiting." He said, not taking his eyes off the cutting board.

"Can't say I've ever heard of it, who's it by?"

Jace mumbled something under his breath.

"What?" Clary asked, leaning forward slightly. He cleared his throat.

"I wrote it. Well, I'm writing it."

Clary smiled; singing was the one talent they had in common; he couldn't draw a straight line and she had no idea how to play an instrument.

"Can I hear it?" She asked excitedly. Jace laughed quietly.

"When it's done." Clary sighed. "I promise. As soon as it's done I will serenade the shit out of you."

Clary laughed. "Fine."

Jace leaned over and turned the radio on, turning the volume up. They started singing loudly, dancing around and with each other as they cooked. Clary put the pasta into the pot as Jace put the last place setting down on the table. When he came back into the kitchen Clary was singing to their favorite song on the radio, he snuck up behind her and grabbed her hand. They waltzed around the small kitchen singing and laughing together. Jace spun her quickly, then grabbed her hips and dipped her, just as the song ended. The stayed like that for a moment, panting lightly. They stared at each other for a moment smiling wildly.

Jace opened his mouth to say something when the doorbell rang. He lifted her back up so she was standing, saying he would get it. Clary placed her hand on her chest as she caught her breath and waited for her blush to disappear.

Clary walked to the door as Izzy placed a kiss on Jace's cheek before pinching it. She laughed; Izzy and Jace were cousins, but if you didn't know any better you'd say they acted more like siblings. Izzy looked over Jace's shoulder and saw Clary, grinning, she shoved Jace out of her way and hugged her best friend. Jace nodded to Simon, Izzy's boyfriend who returned the gesture and handed him a bottle of wine.

Clary hugged Simon quickly. They met in seventh grade and immediately bonded over their love of manga and alternative music.

"Hey Fray," he said grinning.

"Hey Lewis." Izzy came out of the kitchen holding four wine glasses. Jace began uncorking the bottle.

"Jace, how'd you beat us here?" Izzy asked him, "We even left early!"

"Oh please, Jace practically lives here." Clary said, taking a sip of her wine.

"It's true," Jace grinned, pulling out a key. "I even got promoted to key holder."

"It's key _master_, you tool," Clary laughed, rolling her eyes, and then she narrowed them. "Hey, isn't that my spare key? I was wondering where it went!"

Jace only shrugged his shoulders and slipped the key into his pocket.

Everyone was standing by the bar at the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

Clary opened the door to her mother Jocelyn and Luke, who was carrying the box from earlier. She hugged them both, quickly kissing their cheeks. A moment later, Jonathan walked in, followed by another teacher at Clary's school, Maia and her husband Jordan. Maia was holding another bottle of wine, which was quickly opened and poured out for everyone who didn't already have a glass.

"Now that everyone's here, let's eat, I'm starved!" Izzy exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Sebs not here yet! He said quarter passed six." Clary said, causing Jonathan and Izzy to roll their eyes; Sebastian was late for everything. Always.

Clary walked over to the radio, she changed stations and adjusted the volume. She reached into her pocket once she was sure no one was looking and slid her engagement ring on. As she turned back to the group she bumped into Jace, spilling wine on the front of his button up shirt.

"Shit!" She put her glass down and pulled her to her room. "I'm sorry."

"Relax, Clare, it's fine." Jace began unbuttoning her shirt as Clary rummaged through her bottom drawer, which was dedicated to Jace. It always had a few shirts and a pair of jeans and underwear. She pulled out a charcoal grey long sleeve; it was one of her favorite shirts of his. As she turned to hand him the shirt she brushed her arm against his bare chest accidentally. Her cheeks flushed from the heat that resonated from him. She tuned back to busying herself with reorganizing the drawer.

"Thanks," Jace said, she could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Mhmm" she hummed before heading out of the room, desperately trying to steady her heart. She couldn't get that worked up around him with everyone so close.

As Clary walked back to the group Izzy was opening the door.

"Sebastian!" She hugged him quickly before going into the kitchen.

"Hey everyone," he said politely, nodding to all the guys and hugging Maia and Jocelyn.

"You're late. Again." Clary chastised as they hugged.

"I'm sorry! It won't happen again." He promised.

Izzy, Simon and Jocelyn all brought out the meal and everyone sat down.

Clary sat between Sebastian and Jace, her mother and Luke at the head and corner of the table. Jonathan was beside Jace and they had their heads bent together, having what looked like a serious conversation. Izzy, Simon, Maia and Jordan were on the other side of the table. This was where they sat every time they ate here, everyone had they unofficial designated spot.

She looked around, taking everything in. She watched as everyone scooped pasta into each other's plates, Luke pouring more wine into his wife's glass. Clary laughed as Izzy screamed at Simon for putting too much cheese on her meal, then slap his hand away when he offered to take some off.

Clary was jostled from her thoughts as Jace placed a few pieces of chicken on her plate. He made sure to specifically pull the pieces that were slightly burnt, knowing those were her favorite.

"Should we say grace, first? Jocelyn asked smiling.

"Grace!" Clary and Jace shouted in unison. Everyone chuckled; this was customary for them. They weren't exactly what you would call bible thumpers, only going to church for Christmas and Easter. Jace often joked that this was the only reason they were going to make it into heaven. 'Well, except for me of course, I mean look at me, I'm an angel already!' He would always say.

Clary felt Jace's warm hand wrap around hers and she absent-mindedly smiled. She looked to her left and elbowed Sebastian as her swallowed the bite of chick he had already taken. He simply shrugged before taking her other hand. They all bowed their heads as Jocelyn's voice rang through the room; saying grace on everyone's behalf. They all looked up at the same time as she finished.

"Finally!" Izzy exclaimed, "I'm starving!"

"When are you not starving babe?" Simon asked, twirling spaghetti onto his fork and stabbing a piece of chicken. She turned her nose up and crossed her arms.

"I'm choosing to ignore that comment."

"Technically, by acknowledging the fact that I made a comment, you can't ignore it."

Clary sighed as the couple bickered.

"You'd think they were married." Jace joked.

Clary's heart quickened when she remembered the whole reason behind inviting everyone. Here knee began to bounce under the table.

"You okay?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled as she dug into her meal.

Clary spent most of the meal in silence, content with watching everyone. She looked at Maia and Jordan; they were still in their honeymoon phase. She smiled as they stole glances at each other out of the corner of their eyes. At twenty-two they had already been married four years. They both had hard child hoods; they met shortly after they both ran away from home at sixteen. She had been caught trying to steal at a convenience store and Jordan paid for her food. By eighteen, they were married and renting an apartment together, Jordan worked full time as a mechanic while Maia went to school to become a teacher and worked part time at a high-end restaurant. Now that Maia had a steady job and Jordan owned his own auto body shop life was much easier for them. Clary looked up to them for staying together and working through what was probably a very hard start.

When dinner was finished everyone helped clear the table and clean the kitchen. They ended up back at the table, opening another bottle of wine; this was Clary's chance. She cleared her throat.

"Um guys," everyone looked at her and her cheeks flushed. She looked at Jace quickly who, sensing her nervousness, gave her a reassuring smile. Turning, she looked at Sebastian and grinned, looking around the room. She felt a warm hand squeeze hers. The knots in her stomach tightened. She bit her lip and raised her left hand, showing everyone the diamond ring.

"Sebastian and I are engaged."

**Did I trick you guys? That's what I was going for. let me know if I had you thinking it was Jace that she was engaged to! Also, should I continue? I've got a few chapters written so far.**

**Read & Review please!**

**xoxo**

**tash.**


	2. The Announcement (JPOV)

**Soo first off I want to apologize for taking this long to update, turns out my schedule is a lot busier than I had anticipated. ANYWAYS. I hope you liked the first chapter, and to clarify:**

** 1) Clary woke up with Sebastian in her bed, I made a mistake when I was writing it-I just finished rereading the series and as I was writing this I kept picturing Sebastian as Jonathan. (Thanks 1Soccerlover11 for catching that!) **

**1a)if I've just confused you more here's what you have to know: Sebastian has black hair and is engaged to Clary. Jonathan has white blonde hair and is Clary's sister. **

**2) unlike most stories, Sebastian isn't some creep or a jerk or abusive or a cheater or anything. He won't be the most perfect fiance ever but that's because I'm trying to make this as realistic as possible.**

**3) the song Jace is humming later on is Waiting by Darling Buds (Jamie Campbell Bower's band for those who don't know)**

**Alright, on with the story!**

**And if it wasn't obvious, I don't own any of these characters, just the plot.**

Jace arrived at his office at around eleven thirty, he begrudgingly pushed the button and waited for the elevator. The entire ride up he grumbled to himself about how unnecessary it was for him to come in on a Saturday. He impatiently looked at his watch, he had still had a couple hours to quickly print out the final product for his client and make it to Clary's apartment, but that didn't mean he wasn't anxious to see her. The elevator opened and he saw Aline, the secretary look up from her computer.

"Jace! Welcome back! How was your trip?" She asked cheerily. Jace couldn't think of a time where he had seen Aline anything short of overly peppy. He smiled as he remembered when he had once been attracted to the women, with her almond shaped eyes and glossy hair. It wasn't until his third attempt to taking her on a date that she finally told him she was lesbian.

"It was good, I would say it was a nice break, but I still worked while I was out there."

"ANd here you are, in on a saturday only a day after being home." Jace chuckled.

"Speaking of working on a Saturday, how come you're here." Aline rolled her eyes and gestured to a closed door with her shoulder.

"Sebastian asked me to come in, he's been here two years and still can't figure out the damn printers." Jace laughed before saying good bye to Aline and heading to Sebastian's office. He knocked twice before opening the door, entering with his arms spread as if expecting a hug and a smirk on his face.

"Oh look, Goldie's back!" Sebastian said, not looking up from his computer.

"Miss me?"

"Hardly." Jace rolled his eyes. It wasn't a secret that Jace and Sebastian weren't the best of friends; they didn't necessarily hate each other, but each of them was only tolerant of the other for Clary's sake.

"You're coming to Clary's for dinner tonight, right?"

"Mhmm." Sebastian said, only half listening to what Jace was saying.

"Well, dinners at six." Finally Sebastian pulled his almost black irises from his computer screen. He frowned.

"Tell her I'll be there by quarter after." Jace rolled his eyes, turning to leave.

"See you there," Jace called over his shoulder as he headed to his own office.

As Jace waited for his computer to load everything he looked around his office. When he was in eleventh grade Jace was able to get a job working for Clary's dad who owned a company that designed book covers, had an editing division and would soon be opening a publishing division as well. He started off at the bottom, making copies for people, handing out mail, coffee runs; basically he was the Office Bitch. He had never minded though, the people he worked with were great, his boss loved him-which may or may not have had something to do with the fact that he was best friends with his daughter- and the pay was definitely nothing to complain about. After running errands for everyone without fail or any mistakes for nine months Jace was promoted to Illustration's Assistant which was the job he now had.

Hodge Starkweather was Jace's supervisor and someone he looked up to greatly. Hodge had worked for Valentine Morgenstern since the day the company opened only instead of being a co-owner or manager he kept his modest job. He was there for the art and beauty that books and their covers held- not his job title. When the final draft of the book cover was loaded on Jace's screen he grimaced. He didn't remember it being that bad when he'd left. He opened a new file, dragging his hands along his face as he started over.

When Jace was finally finished with the book cover he saved the file, printed it out, took it to the copy room to have it blown up and laminated, then locked it away in his filing cabinet before heading to the main foyer. He called out to Sebastian as he left, saying he would see him later, only to receive a grunt from the door. He approached Aline's desk as she was closing her computer and getting up to leave. Jace lifted his arm to check the time and sighed in relief when he realized he had plenty of time to make it to Clary's place. He smiled at Aline as she jokingly looped her arm around the one he had raised to look at his watch.

"Such a gentlemen," Aline said, pretending to swoon. Jace chuckled as he opened the door for her.

"So," Aline started, glancing back at the office doors quickly, "have you told her yet?"

"Told who what yet?" Jace frowned in confusion. Aline only scoffed and rolled her eyes. The elevator opened and they stepped in.

"You know,' she dragged on, waiting until the doors closed fully, "have you told Clary that you're in love with her and have been since you were twelve."

"You certainly don't beat around the bush, do you?" Jace laughed uneasily. He still wasn't sure how Aline had figured out his feelings, and years before even Isabelle-his own family- had caught on.

"Nope! So? Have you?"

"No, Aline, I haven't confessed my undying love for my best friend." He raised his arms as he spoke. Aline smirked.

"Why not?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because she's dating Sebastian?"

"Yeah, but they broke up like two weeks ago, you said so yourself right before you left for vacation."

"Yeah but they break up every other month, I never trust her when she says they're over, even if it's 'for good this time'" Jace said, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers.

"Jace, stop making excuses, one day she's gonna be at the alter and you're gonna be in the pews watching her marry some other guy, all because you didn't have the balls to tell her how you feel."

"Yeah well what about you? Don't think I haven't seen you and Helen ogling each other at work all day." Jace crossed his arms, thinking he'd won. Aline only grinned.

"Actually," Jace's shoulders sunk, the elevator doors opened and Aline stepped out, "we're going for dinner tonight."

Jace groaned when he realized that once again Aline had beat him, she giggled like a teenager before winking and flouncing away. He turned towards the subway station that would take him to Clary's and pulled out his phone to call one of his best friends.

"Hello?"

"Alec! It's Jace,"

"Hey how was your trip?"

"That's not important right now. Are you and Magnus coming to Clary's tonight?"

"Nope. We're out of town and won't be back till late tomorrow night. Why?" Jace ran a hand through his hair.

"There's no way in hell I'm watching Clary marry some other dude."

"What? Clary's engaged? To who? I'm sorry ma-"

"What? No! That's not what I meant. I was talking to Aline, and long story short, she said if I don't tell Clary how I feel now then I'll regret it later."

"Dude. Me, Izzy, Max, mom and dad, Jonathan, Simon, and Clary's parents have all been saying that for years now."

"And me!" Jace heard Magnus say in the background.

"Are you telling me that everyone except for Clary knows how I feel about her?" Jace paled.

"Well, not everyone, we don't think Sebastian , Maia and Jordan know too." Jace bit his lip, thinking.

"Well, I guess none of that really matters. I'm telling her tonight. Before everyone comes over tonight. Or after when everyones left. Or maybe during dinner, I'll just announce it."

"Woah, slow down buddy! Look, maybe just wait till after, when everyone's gone. You know how bad she can be at handling news, she might totally freeze up." Jace sucked in a breath.

"Or, you know, she could tell you that she loves you too!" Alec quickly back pedaled. Jace cleared his throat.

"Look, my stops coming up and to be completely honest you were absolutely no help. I'll talk to you later."

Before Jace ended the call he heard Alec and Magnus on the other end shout "good luck" simultaneously.

After ringing Clary's doorbell three times Jace came to the conclusion that she wasn't home, he pulled out her spare key that he had stolen from her one night- when she was too hammered to form a coherent sentence- and kept "forgetting" to give back.

He let himself in and was welcomed by the scent of strawberries and cinnamon. Clary. He unceremoniously kicked off his shoes and walked into the living room before dropping onto the couch and flicking through the channels.

Twenty minutes later he heard a key scratching at the door for a moment before he heard the door swing open into the wall beside it and the sound of grocery bags being dropped onto the counter a moment later. Jace grinned as he heard Clay sigh, out of the corner of his eye Jace saw red.

"Thank god, you're here." Jace grinned slightly, hoping he was able to cover up how excited he really was to finally see her after two weeks.

"You'd be surprised at just how often I get that." A pillow hit his head. H stood up and, forcing himself not to run, walked over to Clary where he hugged her tightly.

"I missed you," she said into his chest. Although Clary meant it in the most platonic of ways, Jace couldn't help but feel his stomach tighten, he bit his cheeks to stop himself from smiling. Now would be the perfect time to tell her, just the tw of them at her house where she was most comfortable, and she still had a few hours to recover before anyone came in. He swallowed.

"I missed you too, Red." Lie. He more than missed her. He looked down to see that her eyes were closed and she was grinning- she was remembering something, he could tell that much just from how deep her dimple was in her left cheek. Clary had different smiled for different things. Finally she looked up.

He teased her for a moment about her smile before passing along Sebastian's message .

They started cooking Clary's favorite meal, fettucine alfredo with chicken and Jace tried to think of how he was going to confess his feelings. The thought of it made his hands shake, he had been keeping this a secret for ten years. At least he thought he had been keeping it a secret. He had only ever willingly told three people, his mom, Celine and his two cousins, Alec and Izzy. He hadn't actually told Izzy willingly, she forced it out of him the night he asked Clary to be his date to his high school graduation, clarifying that it was "strictly as friends."

"What song is that?" Clary's voice interrupted his thoughts. He froze, realizing he had been humming a song he had written while on vacation.

"Oh, uh it's called Waiting." Half lie, he had unofficially decided to name it after the girl it was dedicated to.

"Can't say I've ever heard of it, who's it by?"

"Oh god." Jace whispered to himself.

"What?" He could feel her shuffle closer to him, her scent was stronger and he had to clear his throat, praying against all odds that his voice would come out smoothly.

"I wrote it. Well, I'm writing it."

"Can I hear it?" Jace could hear the excitement in her voice.

"When it's done." Another lie. It was already finished. He could see the disappointment in her face, "I promise, as soon as it's done I will serenade the shit out of you."

After they had come to an agreement on it, Jace turned up the volume on the radio, the cooked the rest of the meal, with Jace taking extra care to burn some pieces of the chicken for Clary. Near the end they were doing more dancing than anything, as the song came to and end Jace grabbed her small hips and dipped her. They were both panting from all the dancing and laughing and singing and Jace couldn't find a way to make himself let go of her, he stared at the grin that was spread across her face. If this wasn't the time to tell her than Jace didn't know ever there ever would be. The knot in his stomach tightened. The doorbell rang.

Jace internally screamed every curse word he had ever heard a probably a few that didn't actually exist as he stood Clary back up and headed to the door. Within the next half hour or so almost all the guests we're in the apartment, it was cramped, but they had all grown accustomed to this; Clary loved having everyone over, she offered almost every weekend, even if it was just for a couple drinks or to watch a movie. He took a sip of his wine before walking over to Clary how had left the room and was adjusting the music. She turned quickly and bumped into his chest, turning his grey shirt crimson and making it cling to his skin. Clary apologized quickly and pulled him into her room where she began rifling through the drawer that had a few changes of clothes for him. It had always been that way, every since they were six years old, they always had a change of clothes at each others houses.

Jace was just finished unbuttoning his stained shirt as Clary pulled out a new one for him, he tossed his shirt into the hamper behind him and she turned to give him the new one. He arm brushed against Jace's chest and it felt as if every muscle in his body tensed and relaxed at once, heat resonated from where she had touched him. All too quickly she pulled her hand away and turned a crimson red. He shrugged the shirt on and frowned when he noticed her expression, she had turned away from him but he could still tell that she looked upset. He cleared his throat, avoiding her eyes.

"Thanks," she replied, practically sprinting out of the room.

Dinner went by smoothly, Jace kept noticing Clary's knee was bouncing at fifty beats a minute but he decided against pointing it out. She hated when people did that. She was fully aware of what she was doing. Jace spent most of the meal talking with his best friend, Jonathan, mostly to keep himself from blurting out that he loved the host of the dinner. Jace heard Clary clear her throat and turned immediately. She looked at him quickly and he smiled at her, nodding to encourage her to announce what ever it was that she wanted to share. Slowly, so, so, slowly, Clary raised her left hand revealing a giant diamond ring.

_No._ Jace thought to himself.

"Sebastian and I are engaged."

Jace stared at her hand. The room was silent. Jace looked down at his hands which were int tight fists under the table, shaking violently. He bit on hit tongue until he tasted his coppery blood. Jace began counting in his head to stop himself from exploding. _One. Two. Three. Four. _Isabelle looked at him from across the table sympathetically. _Five. Six. Seven._ Quickly, and without Clary noticing, everyone took their turn sending a pitiful look to Jace. _Eight. Nine. Ten. _He felt Jonathan squeeze his shoulder, he glared at his white knuckled hands.

FInally, Jace looked up to realize that the room was no longer silent. In fact it was the opposite, Izzy was now standing next to him, hugging Clary tightly. She looked at Jace over her best friends shoulder and mouthed "I'm sorry." Jace bit down harder, feeling his jaw tense. He stuffed his hands into his pocket, watching everyone congratulate the couple. HE stepped back and walked quietly to the sliding door that led to the tiny balcony.

With shaking hands Jace pulled out a half empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his back pocket. He fumbled for a minute with the cigarettes before finally pulling one out. To his dismay his shaking hands dropped the rest of the cardboard box. Breathing out slowly, he flicked the lever of the lighter half a dozen times as he raised the cigarette to his numb lips, finally it lit and he held it to the cigarette, sucking in a deep breath. Jace could feel tears threatening the backs of his eyes, they were the only warm part of his body, even the tarry smoke that filled his longs with each labored breath was cold to him. He kept the cigarette between his lips and he grabbed on to the banister. His nails dug into the old wood, cutting him slightly, but he didn't feel it. He blinked vigorously until he was sure that not a single tear was going to come out.

"Everything's gone. Nothing can happen. She's engaged. She's gone. She's not mine anymore." _She never really was yours, dumbass._ Jace shook his head. "She's never going to be mine.

Jace pulled in another deep drag from the cigarette, waiting for the tobacco to calm his shaking hands and sooth his nerves. It didn't come. He was half way through the cigarette when he heard the door slide open and then closed again.

"I thought you were quitting." Clary said so quietly that he almost didn't hear her over the wind. Jace laughed dryly.

"Monday."

"You say that every weekend." _Yeah, then you blow me off to hang out with Sebastian. _Clary silently picked up the pack that had fallen onto the ground and balanced it on the railing. He looked at it for a long moment before placing it in the back pocket that was already housing his lighter.

"And I quit, every Monday." Was all he said. Jace closed his eyes as he heard her shiver. He pictured her pulling her cardigan tighter around her body, it was April, but that didn't mean it was warm after six pm.

"Aren't you gonna congratulate you're best friend?" Jace squeezed the banster once more before turning to face her. She stared at him intently. He half heartedly raised his arms.

"Of course, little Red, why wouldn't I?" She stepped forward without hesitation and hugged him. All Jace could think about was three things. How the smell of his cigarette was destroying the perfect smell of the girl in his arms, how suddenly the only parts of him that were warm were the parts that were toughing her and that her fiance was coming out through the door to join them.

"Am I interrupting something?" Clary pulled away from Jace as if he had burnt her.

"Nah," Jace said smoothly, "I was just congratulating Little Red here, never thought I'd see the day that I'd watch ano- a man marry her." He bit his lip, hoping that neither of them had caught his almost- slip- up. Clary pouted jokingly.

"Jonathan said the exact same thing inside." she said crossing her arms. Jace ruffled her hair playfully, fighting the urge to not run his hand along her smooth hair.

"Hey Bean, why don't you go inside. I wanna talk to Jace for a minute." Jace gritted his teeth. He hated that nickname. Clary was not a bean. Beans were not cute or sweet or amazing. She had nothing to do with a bean.

"Clary can stay out here if she wants."

"No, it's okay, I'm sure my mom and Izzy have a thousand and one questions to ask me about the wedding. After all, it's only five months away." Clary said smiling. Jace choked on the smoke he had breathed in.

"Five months?"

"Yeah, five months. We've always pictured a fall wedding." Sebastian said, watching Jace carefully. _Bullshit. Clary's always wanted a winter wedding._ Jace wanted to snap, but he bit his tongue. Clary disappeared back into the house and Sebastian straightened, Jace leaned against the banister taking one more drage from the cigarette before putting it out.

"Smokings a nasty habit." Sebastian chastised. Jace only rolled his eyes. "You know what else is a nasty habit? Panting over another guy's girl. A girl you've know almost your entire life. You know, Clary sees you as a brother. She says that all the time."

Jace crossed his arms, forcing himself to remaining stoic.

"She talks about me? That's good to hear. She hardly ever mentions you."

If it were possible, Jace could have sworn Sebastian's eyes darkened even more.

"Watch your mouth, Herondale."

"Watch your temper, Verlac. We all know you have issues controlling your emotions. Come to think of it, that's one thing Clary has said about you. You let your emotions control you. They take over and you lose any control you ever had."

Sebastian walked towards Jace until they were only inches apart.

"Stay away from my girlfriend." Jace raised his hands in mock surrender and smirked. It took all the self control in his body to not punch the black haired boy in the face. Sure, Clary would be mad for a few hours, maybe a day. But it would be worth it. Satisfied with Jace's silence, Sebastian turned and stalked towards the door.

"Wait a second. I thought she's your fiance?" Sebastian turned back. "Or are you doubting that's going to work out in the end just like everyone else?"

Jace only had a moment to tense his jaw when he felt Sebastian's fist connect with it. His head whipped to the right and he stepped back, thrown off balance. He grabbed his jaw tenderly with his hand.

"That was a good hit Sebby, almost hurt." Before he could reply, Jace was already in the apartment. He stuffed his feet into his shoes as he pulled out another cigarette and held it between his index and middle fingers. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his sister watch him with concern. Not trusting himself to turn back and look at the girl he'd just lost, he raised his hand over his shoulder in an attempt of a wave.

"Hope you all had a great night." Jace pushed the cigarette into his mouth, lighting it as soon as the door shut with a definitive click. He sucked in the smoke before adding to himself, "cause I sure as hell didn't."

He didn't think about what they were saying about him. He didn't think about what Clary might be wondering. He forced himself not to picture her planning her wedding that was only five short months away. And he refused to even attempt to imagine her going to bed in tears because her fiance had accused her of cheating on him with her best friend. Again.

**Thanks for reading darlings, please review and tell your friends about this! I was slightly disappointed with the lack of reviews for the first chapter so...no more updates till I get at least 20 reviews!**

**Please don't hate me. I need encouragement.**

**(I'll probably cave when I hit like 10 reviews anyways but still.)**

**-tash.**


	3. The Test

**I definitely didn't think I would hit 20 reviews this quickly, since you guys are so amazing and how great the reviews were, here's the next chapter! For once I had a slow day, so sadly I can't promise updates this frequent, but I will still try my best!**

**Enjoy!**

Clary watched as her best friend stormed out of her house without so much as glancing at her. The door slammed and the room was silent for a moment, only a moment.

"So," Izzy started, looking slightly uncomfortable, "a fall wedding. That'll be pretty?"

Clary nodded absent mindedly. Izzy, Maia and Clary's mother talked about the wedding and what would have to be done. Clary nodded and smiled every once in a while although she wasn't really listening to anything that was being said. Why had Jace been crying earlier? Clary asked herself. She frowned slightly. Jace's mother had been rather sick lately, constantly making trips to the hospital. Perhaps she had taken a turn for the worse. The creases in Clary's forehead deepened, Jace always told Clary when something happened to his mom, he would have told her if something was wrong. Then again he hadn't really had a chance.

"Clary?" She blinked, realizing that almost everyone had left. It was just her parent s and Sebastian that were still there.

"Huh? Yeah, mom? Sorry, just got lost in my thoughts." She chuckled halfheartedly, twisting her fingers together.

"We're going to head out. The dishwashers all loaded, you just have to start it, I couldn't find the soap." Jocelyn said simply, Clary saw in her mother's eyes, however, that there was something else she wanted to say.

"Okay, thanks mom." Clary said, pausing, Jocelyn glanced over at Sebastian quickly. "Oh, there's something I wanted to show you before you go, a lesson plan I've been thinking of for my class, I wanted your opinion. It's in my room."

"Of course, we'll just be a minute." Jocelyn said, directing the last part to Luke and Sebastian. They nodded before returning to their conversation about sports.

When Clary's bedroom door was closed she leaned against it and sighed.

"Alright mom, what's up?"

Jocelyn raised an eyebrow as if she were confused, her daughter mimicked the face.

"It's nothing, really. It's just that well-"

"You don't like Seb."

"No! No, that's not it sweet heart. It's just that you're both so young. And he's your first boyfriend. Your first real boyfriend, I just don't want you to rush into things and regret it. I mean, it's like getting your first car and deciding it's the one you want for the rest of your life."

"Are you really comparing Seb to my old Civic?"

"No, well, I guess so. But look, after a couple of years with that one you found a different one that was better. And then another one after that. All I'm saying is that you haven't really experienced anything other than Sebastian."

"So what you're saying is that I should date half the city before settling down? To get experience?"

"Clary," Jocelyn sighed. "You know that's not what I mean."

"I know. Just…why can't you be happy for me, like everyone else is?"

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm very happy for you. But you're my little girl and I can't really think of anyone other than J- I just don't think anyone will ever be good enough for you."

"Other than who?" Clary frowned in confusion. Jocelyn swallowed.

"Does your father know about the engagement?" her mother asked quickly, trying to change thesubject.

"No, not yet. Well, I'm sure he knows, Seb would have asked for his blessing. I'm meeting him for lunch tomorrow to tell him." Clary answered, forgetting her mother's slip up earlier."

Jocelyn smiled and kissed Clary's forehead before heading back out to the front door. Luke stood up quickly and hugged Clary before putting on his shoes and helping his wife with her coat. When they were both ready to brave the chilly weather they said their goodbyes, leaving Clary and Sebastian alone. As soon as the door closed Sebastian kissed Clary, holding her tightly to him, thrown off by the sudden attack Clary stumbled slightly and laughed, she kissed him back quickly, pulling him to the couch. Sebastian sat down first, pulling her onto his lap. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"I love you babe," he whispered into her ear while playing with her hair.

"I love you too Seb."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Do you doubt me?" Clary joked.

"No, it's just," he fidgeted nervously, not meeting her eyes. "Sometimes I felt like I'm competing for you."

Clary opened her mouth to speak but he covered it quickly with a finger.

"I know, I know, you're not a prize or a trophy. I just mean, well, you're amazing Clary. Absolutely amazing, you're the most important thing in my life and sometimes I'm afraid that one day you're going to realize that you can have anyone you want and leave. I feel like I have to constantly try and remind you that you're my world."

Clary held Sebastian's face in her hands gently before kissing his nose.

"Seb, I've never felt this strongly about anyone before. I've given you my heart entirely and I trust you with it. Isn't that enough to get you to realize that you can trust me with yours?"

Sebastian nodded slightly, biting his lip.

"Yeah, it is. It's just that Jace-"

"Jace?"

"Yeah, it's just that it's so obvious that he likes you and you guy have known each other practically your whole lives, meanwhile we only met in high school and-"

"Jace doesn't like me, Seb. I mean he does, but not as anything more than a friend." Clary tried to hide the hint of disappointment in her voice. Sebastian, thankfully, didn't seem to notice it.

"Clary, are you really that dense that you don't know?"

"What?"

"Come on, don't play dumb."

"I'm not!" Clary replied incredulously.

"Clary! He stares at you all the time!"

"That doesn't mean anything." She answered, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Clarissa."

"Sebastian."

The couple stared at each other for a moment before Sebastian finally spoke.

"Do you love him?" Clary faltered for a moment before realizing there was nothing wrong with admitting that she did.

"Of course I do. We're best friends." She added quickly.

"Do you love him as more than a friend?" Clary stood up from Sebastian's lap.

"Did you seriously just ask me that?"

"Did you seriously just avoid answering the question?"

"I shouldn't have to answer the question, Sebastian. I'm dating you. I'm engaged to you."

Before Sebastian could say anything else, Clary stormed off to her room telling him that he could sleep on the couch and slamming the door.

She took in a shaky breath before changing into her pyjamas and getting into bed. She laid on her side, staring at the door. Had she overreacted? Yes. But that didn't justify Sebastian questioning her loyalty to him. She frowned as she thought about Jace. Jace. Her best friend, the only person who knew every one of her secrets. The first boy she had ever had a crush on, a crush that lasted from when she was eight up until, well, up until she started dating Sebastian. Clary's chest tightened with guilt as she remembered that the only reason she had agreed to go out with Sebastian in the first place was to make Jace jealous. After a few weeks of dating, Clary realized that Jace hadn't acted the slightest bit upset. In fact, he encouraged her new relationship and not long after her and Sebastian's first date Jace had started dating a girl named Kaelie.

Once Jace started dating that blond girl with startlingly blue eyes and a perfect body, Clary realized that all she and Jace would be was friends. Not long after that, she noticed that her feelings for Sebastian had increased significantly. Clary began looking forward to their dates and was constantly making sure she looked good for him, not that he ever complained about how she dressed. Sebastian constantly complimented her looks, even when she wore sweatpants and an oversized shirt. He was a fantastic boyfriend that was not something Clary could deny. Sure they broke up every once in a while, but that was usually Clary's doing. He was a protective boyfriend, constantly worrying about her and how she was. Although it was a bit over bearing at times, it was sweet and it made her feel extremely important.

She knew in her heart that Sebastian loved her and would never cheat on her, everyone knew that. Her friends often joked that she wore the pants in the relationship; she always denied it, but secretly she agreed with them. The more she thought about Sebastian, the worse she felt. Just then she heard the sound of glass breaking, a sound she recognized as a plate hitting the tile floors in her small kitchen. She sighed to herself as tears started to form in her eyes; it was as if she had been thinking out loud.

Clary woke up to the sound of sizzling and popping and the smell of bacon and eggs. She stood up trying to think of who it could be. Izzy couldn't cook for the life of her, her parents wouldn't have randomly come over to make her breakfast, and Jace, like Clary, hated eggs. She slowly walked down the narrow hallway to the kitchen when she saw Sebastian placing breakfast precariously on two plates. She smiled shyly as he leaned over and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and handed her a cup of coffee.

"What's all this for?" Clary finally asked when they were both sitting at the table.

"I want to apologize for last night. I was a total dick and you didn't deserve that. You went to all the trouble of making dinner and having everyone over to tell them the good news and I ruined the night."

Clary moved her eggs around on her plate expertly- she was used to making it look like she enjoyed Sebastian's eggs after years of faking it.

"It's okay Seb. I overreacted anyways."

"Are you sure baby?"

"I'm sure. I promise. It's fine." Clary smiled at him, she had forgiven him almost immediately, it was hard for her to stay mad at him for longer than a few hours.

He smiled at her gratefully and they ate their breakfast in a familiar silence.

"So, I was thinking maybe we could go out or something? I don't see why we should let a perfectly good Sunday go to waste?"

"I can't," clary said frowning, "I'm going for lunch with my dad, to tell him about the engagement."

Sebastian's smile faltered for a moment but he recovered quickly.

"It's fine babe, you haven't seen your dad in a while. I've got a few things I need to finish up at work, anyways. I was going to go in and do it tonight but maybe we could go for dinner instead?"

"I'd love that."

Sebastian cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen, brushing off Clary's attempts to help saying he made the mess, so he would clean it up. After several tries at changing his mind, Clary finally gave in and went to shower. Once she was dry and her hair was tamed, she stared at her closet in dismay. She had nothing to wear.

"Seb!" Clary called out; moments later he came running into the room.

"What's wrong?"

"I have absolutely nothing to wear."

"You say that literally every time you have to get dressed."

"Because I have nothing to wear!" Clary pouted and crossed her arms. "Help?"

Sebastian sighed and stared at Clary's bursting closet. After a few moments he pulled out her dark jeans, a white flowy tank top and her charcoal grey blazer.

"There." He said, handing her the clothes. Clary eyed him curiously.

"I do look at those magazines out on the coffee table, you know."

Clary bit back a laugh before kissing him on the cheek and getting dressed. As she was walking to the front door Sebastian put a chain around her neck, she looked down and saw her father's family ring hanging on it. She smiled gratefully.

"Told you I'd get it polished for you." He said, winking.

Minutes later Clary was sitting in the back of a taxi, tapping her black heels impatiently. She looked at her watch and bit her lip; at best she would get to the restaurant five minutes earlier than the reservation. As the cab pulled up to the restaurant she received a text from her father.

**Beat you again ;)**

Clary laughed as she put her phone into her back pocket and paid the driver. She walked into the restaurant and was greeted by a girl who looked to be around Clary's age.

"I'm meeting my dad. Valentine?"

The hostess looked at her computer for a moment before leading Clary to the table. Clary saw her dad's pale blond hair before his face, which was something the Morgenstern's were known for; it was either bright red or almost-white- blond, that and their eyes which could be green or nearly black. Although Clary didn't see her dad as often as she would have liked, she loved him very much and would always remain daddy's little girl. Her parents and divorced when she was seven and Jonathan was nine but, unlike most harrow story divorces, her parents were really good about the whole thing. They got along great and Jocelyn invited Valentine for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner every year. If you didn't know any better you would think that they had just been friends their whole lives. It had been Valentine's idea to divorce, he could tell his wife was unhappy since he was never home, she deserved more than what he could give her so, surprisingly, he was thrilled when Luke, his long-time friend, had approached him, asking for Valentine's blessing to marry Jocelyn. It may have been a rather unorthodox between the three of them, but it worked. And Clary was incredibly grateful for that,

"Sweetheart," her father greeted, opening his arms as he stood so he could hug her.

"Hey dad," she hugged him tightly as she felt him kiss the top of her head lightly. "How did you beat me?"

"Trick of the trade." He replied with a wink.

"I'm serious! No matter how early I try to be somewhere you always show up first. I'm beginning to think you show up first thing in the morning and just wait."

"Maybe I do." He joked. Clary playfully rolled her eyes before looking at the menu.

"So," Valentine started after they had ordered, "How was Jace's vacation?"

"I don't really know actually, we haven't had a chance to talk about it."

"Oh well, I'll just ask him at work on Monday."

"Aren't you going to ask how Sebastian is?"

"I thought you two broke up?" Valentine's forehead creased in confusion.

"We got back together…" Clary bit her lip. "Have you talked to him recently?"

"No, not since before you two broke up…again."

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"Is something wrong sweetheart?"

"No, definitely not wrong," she raised her left hand, "Sebastian proposed."

Valentine choked on the water he had been taking a sip of.

"Sebastian?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, congratulations!" Valentine said after recovering from his initial shock. His eyes softened when he noticed his daughter's sad expression.

"Clary, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just thought that he had asked for your permission is all."

"Sweetheart, times have changed, I don't think it's still normal for a man to ask a girl's father for his blessing."

"Yeah, you're right."

Valentine smiled and squeezed Clary's hand from across the table.

"Hey dad?"

"Yes daughter?" Clary laughed at his joke, the same one he'd been making since she was a kid.

"You know I want you to walk me down the aisle, right? I mean I know mom married Luke, but you're my real dad, there's no one I'd rather do it."

"I would be honoured," Valentine replied, grinning.

After lunch and catching up, Clary headed back to her small apartment, deciding she would walk back since it was nice out and she wasn't in a hurry. On her way she passed a drug store and remembered that she had to pick up a few things. She was in the feminine products aisle looking at the various types of tampons when she felt a knot form in her stomach. She stood there for a moment, racking her brain to try and remember when her period was supposed to come. Finally she remembered; almost a month and a half ago ago.

"No," she whispered to herself in denial, but yes, her period was, in fact five weeks late. At first Clary laughed at the idea. She wasn't pregnant, she couldn't be, yet as she walked to the front of the store to pay for her things, Clary found herself picking up a small package that, previously, she had no intentions of needing for at least a couple more years.

The entire walk back to her apartment, Clary kept looking at the bag, she felt as if the shopping bag that the cashier had put her things in was completely see through. Everyone she walked passed seemed to be staring at the bag, her face, or her stomach with a knowing look. _How could you be so stupid? An entire month. You missed your last period and you were too stupid to even notice. _Clary jammed her key into the lock with shaking hands. She dropped her bag on her bad and sat on the floor against the closed door with her arms wrapped around her knees. For a few minutes she just sat and thought. Did she even want a baby? Was she ready to be a mom? Was Sebastian ready to be a dad? She glared at the package that had fallen out of the bag and seemed to be taunting her. Clary hastily pulled out her phone and called Izzy's phone.

"Hey-"

"Oh Izzy thank-"

"You've reached Izzy's voicemail. I'm not able to answer the phone right now but if you leave your name and number I'll get back to you as soon as possible. If I remember."

"Change your stupid voicemail!" Clary screamed into her phone before hanging up. She scrolled through her contacts before hitting the call button.

"Hello?" The tension in Clary's body seemed to lessen at the voice.

"Jace,"

"Yes, that would be me. What's up?"

"Can you come over, please?"

The silence from the other end of the line seemed to drag on forever, her heart was pounding so loud she wouldn't have been surprised if Jace could hear it.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit."

Clary sighed in relief; she went to thank him when she realized he had already hung up.

Twenty minutes later Jace was walking into the aparetment and Clary was still sitting against the door in her room, crying hysterically.

Jace rushed to her bedroom door as soon as he heard her, he stopped himself from opening the door, knowing that Clary would be sitting against it. Instead he crouched down and leaned his head against the door.

"Clare? What's wrong?"

"I can't. I'm not ready. I'm too young." Jace stood from the door quickly with wide eyes. Did she regret saying yes to Sebastian?

The door swung open quickly and a small body was thrown against him, he caught the both of them before they crashed through the paper thin drywall of her hallway. She sobbed uncontrollably into Jace's chest for a few minutes before he pulled her away and looked at her from an arm's length away.

"Clary, you're seriously freaking me out. What's wrong? What happened?"

"I can't Jace, you don't understand, I'm so scared. What if I'm not good at it?"

"Clary!" He gently shook her shoulders so that she looked up at his face. "You're not making any sense. Slow down, breath, then tell me."

Clary closed her eyes and took a few slow, shaky breaths."

"I'm late. It's late. My period is late, Jace."

Jace froze, it was as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He slowly pried his fingers from Clary's small arms and dropped them to his sides. He stared at her for a moment as she sniffed.

"How late? Don't they come late every once in a while? That's normal, right?"

"I never got my last period, it should have come a month and a half ago."

Jace breathed out slowly, raking his hands through his hair. He had to stay calm, for Clary's sake. He was her best friend, it didn't matter that he was in love with her, it didn't matter that she was engaged to another man and possible carrying his child. All that mattered was that his best friend was a wreck and he needed to be there for her.

"Okay, have you, you know-"

"No," she laughed humourlessly, "I haven't peed on a stick yet. I was going to, but I didn't want to do it alone."

"And you called me? A guy? I'm not exactly equipped to handle this kind of stuff. You want me to punch a guy in the face? Glady. Can't open the pickle jar? Sure, I'll help. A baby…that's different."

"If it's any consolation I called Izzy first?"

Jace laughed and shook his head, he walked passed her and sat on the bed.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go piss on a piece of plastic and find out if there's a bun in the oven or not."

Clary sighed, picking up the package and locked herself in the bathroom. After a few minutes of silence Jace finally spoke.

"Clary, would you pee already?"

"I can't pee knowing that you're listening!"

Jace sighed to himself and leaned across the bed to turn on Clary's clock radio then turned it up.

A minute later Clary emerged from the bathroom empty handed.

"Well? Where is it? Did you wash your hands?"

"It's sitting on the counter and no I didn't."

"Both of those answers are disgusting."

"Jace, its pee. It's not like I…"

"Defecated? Laid waste? Dropped a-"

"Jace! Shut up. Please."

He smirked as Clary quickly walked to the bathroom and washed her hands, she came back in and laid down on the bed, face down. Jace reached over and absently drew on her back while they waited. Five minutes later Clary walked over to the bathroom, she picked up the test, face down and turned Jace with a look of terror.

Jace walked across to the bathroom and placed his hands on either sides of her face gently and bent down to rest his forehead against hers.

"Clary, whatever that test says, you have Izzy, and your parents, and Sebastian and Jonathan and everyone else."

"And you?" Clary asked, not realizing just how deep that question actually reached into her best friend's heart.

"You'll always have me." She smiled at his answer.

"Jace, nothing is going to change between us, okay? I promise. Just because I'm getting married, you're not going anywhere. You'll always be my best friend."

Jace dropped his hands from her face and stepped back, swallowing. He nodded slightly.

"Yeah, best friends."

Clary took a deep breath and turned the test over and stared at a small, red, but very clear plus sign.

"Oh my god." Clary breathed, her hands shaking again. Clary looked up at her best friend whose expression remained blank; she placed the test on the counter slowly before walking across to her bed and sitting down.

The bed dipped slightly as Jace sat next to her, he placed his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him.

"You're gonna be a great mom."

Clary nodded slowly as a tear ran down her face. It wasn't that she was upset, she always knew she wanted to have kids and a big family, it wasn't even the fact that she was young. Clary's tears were caused solely on the fact that she was terrified of how good of a mom she would actually be. jace spoke again, quieter this time.

"You're gonna be a really great mom."

**Soooo, tell me your thoughts?! Once again I'm trying to make this relatively realistic, I try and base the conversations around conversations I've had or I might have with someone (The Clary- Valentine relationship is basically mine and my dads relationship & Clary & Jonathan's relationship will be the same as mine and my brothers, the only difference being I'm the older one)**

**ALSO. I'M GOIGN TO START A QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER THING. SO HERE GOES.**

**How old are you? I'm extremely curious to see how much of an age rnge there is here. I'm 18!**

**tash.**

**PS- I won't over lap as much as I did in the first two chapters when I do different POV's, I just wanted you guys to understand what was going ona dn how Jace truely felt.**


	4. The Reaction

**This chapter is sort of short. I wrote it on my lunch break today. I'll probably work on the next chapter a bit tomorrow and on wednesday between my classes.**

**-tash**

**Third Person POV**

"So, now what?" Clary asked quietly after sitting in silence for what felt like forever but was only a few minutes.

Jace crossed his arms, frowning thoughtfully. Clary had noticed from a very young age that Jace had a very particular face when he was concentrating, he always frowned, with three thin lines that would carve into his forehead and he always, always bit the insides of his cheeks. When they were children Clary would poke the little indents to try and pull him away from his thoughts, but she was almost always unsuccessful. If Jace was deep in thought, there was no way of pulling him back to you; you had to wait until he was finished.

"I guess you tell Sebastian." He said after a while.

"Should I tell him right away? Or maybe I should wait?"

"No, the sooner the better. I'd want to know if I was gonna be a dad."

"That's definitely not what you said in high school." Clary said with a sad smile, remembering the multiple girls that had pregnancy scares because of Jace, or so they had claimed. Many of the girls who had pregnancy stories circulating around the school about them were girls that Jace didn't even know. They both shuddered at the same time.

Clary looked at the alarm clock beside her bed and gasped causing Jace to jump, insecting her for any injuries.

"Is it the baby?" He asked with concern etched into his face. Clary laughed.

"Jace, the baby is probably the size of a walnut right now. I won't be feeling anything for a little while. At least I don't think I will. I just realized how late it's getting, Sebs going to be here soon so we can go out for dinner."

Jace swallowed loudly, his jaw clenching as he did so; Clary failed to notice.

Wordlessly, Jace got up and headed to the front door as Clary hastily hid the pregnancy test. He slowly pulled his shoes on, pushing his heels in without bothering with the laces, a moment later his red headed best friend emerged from the bedroom.

They stood several feet away from each other in silence, Jace with his hands casually tucked into his hoodie pocket and Clary nervously wringing her hands together. Clary's green eyes were brighter than usual, Jace noticed he looked more carefully and realized it was because the whites of her eyes were slightly red from crying. He watched as she looked at the ground for a moment, as if she were guilty of something, a lock of hair fell in front of her face and before Jace had even realized he had moved towards her he was tucking the hair behind her ear, like he had the day they had met.

She looked up and smiled shyly, remembering the same thing Jace had just thought of. She watched as his eyes flickered quickly over her face, as he focused and unfocused on each of her eyes, he clenched his left hand into a fist momentarily before relaxing again; he wanted to say something. She followed the veins in his forearms until the disappeared under the sleeve that had been pushed up to his elbow. Clary watched his the skin beside his throat vibrated from his pulsed, he swallowed again, she studied his Adam's apply as it bobbed up and down. She paused at his lips, they were pressed into a thin line the edges of his mouth traces in white from how tightly his mouth was closed.

They both opened their mouths at the same time to speak but closed them abruptly; Clary's finger reached her ear lobe just after Jace touched his, meaning she had to talk first, it was something they had started doing as kids to save them from having to argue over who would talk first. Jace chuckled quietly.

"You always win."

"That's because I always know when you've got something on your mind." Jace answered quietly.

Clary looked at the ground nervously, chewing on her bottom lip, finally she looked up.

"You're happy for me, right?" She laced her fingers together to stop herself from fidgeting. Silence.

"Of course I am, why would you even ask that?"

"It's just, no one really seems too excited about the wedding. I mean Izzy's ecstatic because she gets to plan it, but I can tell she's only excited for that reason."

"Are you happy, Clare?" She nodded her head. "Then we're all happy. We just don't want to lose you to Sebastian entirely is all."

"Did you know that no one's asked me how he proposed?" Clary asked after a moment of silence. Jace swallowed; he didn't want to know how Sebastian proposed.

"How did he do it?" He asked hoarsely, the backs of his eyes burning.

"We were eating supper after we had just made up from our last fight. He put my plate down in front of me but instead of food being on it there was a box with the ring on it."

Jace laughed out loud.

"That's so cheesy."

"I know," Clary said laughing with him.

The laughter died almost as quickly as it had started and they look at each other in silence.

"What were you going to say before? And don't say 'nothing' because I know that look you had, it was serious." Clary said quietly.

Jace looked over her shoulder for a moment, as he thought about how to word it. _Sebastian doesn't deserve to be a father to anything that's a part of you. He doesn't deserve to teach them how to ride a bike or learn fractions or watch them graduate from high school._

"I just want to know that this is what you want, one hundred percent you want to spend the rest of your life with him."

Clary chewed on her thumb nail, not looking Jace in the eyes directly.

"I don't think I can say it's one hundred percent, but there's a lot of things in my life I'm not one hundred percent sure about."

Jace slowly released the breath he had been holding, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Do you think you're rushing into it? I mean five months, that's...that's really soon."

"It might be sooner," Clary said quietly, causing Jace's head to shoot up, "I mean I don't want to be a whale on my wedding day, but I want to be married before the baby is born. So she can have a mom and dad that are really together."

Jace bit the inside of his cheek and squeezed his eyes closed, willing the burning feeling to go away.

"She?"

"Yeah, she. I can feel it." Jace nodded, smiling slightly.

"Well, I can't wait to meet her."

Jace turned on his heel silently, sending a quick wink to Clary before closing the front door, creating another barrier between him and the girl that unknowingly held his heart.

As the door closed Clary slowly breathed out, she forced herself to unclench her hands which had gone numb and turned slightly purple. She looked at the crescent indents on her palms from where her nails had dug in. She laughed without humor once as she thought about the predicament she was in. She loved two different people. She was married to one of them and carrying his child and yet that still wasn't enough for her to let go of her best friend.

She shook her head, silently cursing herself. She walked into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water when she heard a key jiggle in the lock, Clary looked at the clock on the stove. 6:30 pm.

Sebastian walked in the front door and dropped his bag on the chair beside him and sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Hey Bean," he called, "ready to go?"

Clary walked around the corner, pulling her coat on. Sebastian reached over and helped untuck the hair that had gotten caught under the heavy hood before kissing her forehead. She reached for his hand, interlocking their fingers and squeezing slightly.

They walked down the street to a small italian restaurant they both liked, Clary couldn't help but think that Sebastian would feel the clamminess of her hands.

"You're glowing," Sebastian said, grinning down at Clary as he opened the door and ushered her into the warm restaurant.

Clary laugehd uneasily as she mentally wondered whether that was because of the baby or if he was still sucking up about the fight.

They sat down at their usual table and their server came up to them, taking their orders. Sebsatian ordered two glasses of the House red wine.

"Just one," Clary said quickly, "I'll just have a coke, please."

Sebastian raised an eye brow as the waiter scribbled down their order and walked away.

"What?" Clary asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"Since when do you say no to wine?" Clary shrugged her shoulders, sipping the glass of water that had been waiting for them when they sat down.

"Just don't feel like any tonight I guess."

"Huh, if you say so."

The rest of the dinner went smoothly, Sebastian told Clary about his latest project at work and asked her about how her students were doing and what she was teaching them in class. By the end of the meal Clary was much more relaxed, somewhere between their appetizers and dinner she had decided she would tell Sebastian the news when they got back home. He was in a good mood and she had made a point to talk about how great the kids were in her class to soften him up slightly.

As Sebastian ate, Clary inspected her fiance, she watched as his shoulders tensed and relaxed when he moved. For someone who worked at a desk, Sebastian definitely had a nice body, every part of his strong frame was wrapped in thick cords of muscles. Clary's breath hitched and she began to feel a tingling sensation on her torso, causing her to squirm in her seat. A blush crept up her face as she realized what was happening to her. Clary never realized just how much hormones were affected when you were pregnant, she had heard before that your sex drive increased when pregnant but she never really believed it. She took a long sip of her coke, looking around the room, avoiding the questioning gaze Sebastian was sending her.

The entire walk back to the apartment Sebastian kept tugging on Clary's hand to slow her down; she was practically jogging home.

"What's gotten into you?" Sebastian asked laughing as Clary once again yanked him forward.

"Just want to get home, you know?"

Sebastian only raised his eye brow again and sped up his pace. Clary grinned.

When they finally reached home Clary pulled him through the door and slammed it shut. She spun to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to kiss him. He kissed her softly, placing his hands on her sides, he began to pull away but CLary only deepened the kiss, pressing her body against his. Sebastian finally got the idea and tightened his grip on her, holding her as close to himself as he possible could. Sebastian stepped forward and Clary stumbled back into the door. His hands trailed up from her hips until he was cupping her face. Clary gently tugged on Sebastian's hair before dragging her nails down his chest to the bottom of his shirt, she pulled on the hem of the shirt quickly discarding it on the floor. Before Clary could take a breath Sebastian tugged her top off, dropping it at their feet. She kissed him roughly, her hands fluttering along his arms, shoulders and finally chest. Heat coursed through her core, eliciting a breathy moan from her throat.

Sebastian pulled away for a moment, resting his forehead against hers as they caught their breath. He opened his mouth to speak but Clary only pressed her mouth to his.

"What's gotten into you?" He asked between kisses. Instead of answering Clary only kissed him harder.

"Not that I'm complaining...woah." Sebastian flung his head back as Clary's shaking hands worked at his belt buckle.

"I can't help it." She mumbled into his mouth, celebrating mentally when the buckle finally gave and she began to tug at the top button of his jeans. "It's this damn baby."

Sebastian froze, pulling back slightly. Clary was still breathing hard, unaware of what she had just said. Gently, Sebastian grabbed Clary's wrists, stopping her from undoing any more of the buttons.

"What did you say?" He asked slowly.

Clary's eyes widened as realization finally hit her.

"what?" She asked, silently praying that she hadn't actually said what she thought she had.

"Baby?"

Clary closed her eyes, swallowing. _No going back now_. She thought.

"Seb," she cupped his face in her hands, "I'm pregnant. Well, I'm pretty sure I am, I took an at home test today and it was positive. I have to see a doctor to makre sure, but those things are pretty accurate." Sebastian stepped back from her, breathing slowly.

He nodded his head up and down, his eyes unfocused, making it seem as if he were staring at the insode of Clary's elbow. She looked up at him desparately.

"Seb, say something." She begged, placing her hands on his chest.

He reached up, grabbing her hands and holding them against his chest.

"I just, can we sit down?" He asked.

Clary nodded and pulled him towards the chair nearest them. She sat in the one beside him, holding his hands tightly. He leaned back against the chair, pulling his hands from hers carefully. She swallowed, so far his reaction was not how she had pictured it.

"So, there's a baby in you?" Clary laughed slightly.

"Yeah, our baby. Your baby." Sebastian ran his hand through his hair.

"My baby?" Instead of sounding excited or in awe as Clary had thought, he sounded horrified. Clary's eyes stung as teared welled on her bottom eye lids.

"You don't sound very happy."

"I'm not." Clary gasped as a tear escaped. He looked up, realizing what he said.

"I'm not mad either." He paused, searching for the right words. "I'm not mad, I'm just scared. Petrified, horrified-"

"Okay, I get it."

"We're just so young Clare. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to have a family with you and be a dad, I know for a fact that I want that."

Clary's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"But, I just thought that wouldn't be for another, I dunno, five, six years? I mean I guess there's always adoption."

"Wait, what?" Clary asked, unable to comprehend what she was hearing.

"I mean, come on Clare, we're still kids, you know? And we're gonna be parents? In what, nine months? I don't think I can learn to be a dad that quick, I don't think I'll know how to be a husband that quick."

Clary took a shaky breath.

"You're not seriously trying to convince me to put our baby up for adoption, are you?"

Sebastian looked at the ground.

"Maybe? Clare, I'm scared, okay? You're making it sound like I think we should abort it."

"I get that, I'm scared too, you know, there's a living _being_ inside of me."

Sebastian flinched slightly as she spoke.

"Are you really that appalled at the thought of me having your baby?" Clary asked as more tears fell down her cheeks, she leaned towards him.

"No, Clary, trust me that's not it. Look, I think I'm just in shock right now, maybe just give me some time to digest all of this."

Clary nodded silently, as Sebastian reached forward to wipe her tears with his thumbs.

After sitting in silence for twenty minutes Sebastian got up to go take a shower, he eyes Clary's stomach warily before he left, as if he were waiting fir something to pop out at the very moment.

As the shower turned on, Clary put her face in her hands, crying silently. She sat up, wiping her face with her wrists as she got another glass of water. She drank the entire glass of water in one go, when she placed the glass back on the counter she realized that she had placed her hand on her stomach without even knowing it.

Sebastian's reaction wasn't exactly terrible, but it wasn't great either. Clary set on the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest, chewing on her thumb nail. She looked a her phone sitting on the coffee table in front of her, considering calling Jace. She quickly dismissed the idea, _He's not going to be there at you every beck and call. He's got other things to think about_. Clary looked at the phone one more time before sighing and looking over her lesson plan for the following week.

Clary ended up being so engrossed in her planning that she didn't notice Sebastian get out from the shower and go into her bedroom. He looked at her from around the corner, noticing how focused she was, he decided to leave her alone and just go to bed. He closed the bedroom door silently before getting under the covers on his side of the bed. He waited a few hours for Clary to come to bed, the entire time he had different scenarios running through his head. He thought about how he could have handled the situation better. Was he still terrified? Absolutely. Did he want a baby right now? No. But did he really have to react that way? He could have at least pretended to be happy at the news. He groaned to himself. A baby was definitely not what he had envisioned his early twenties revolving around. It wasn't until one in the morning that Clary finally crept into the room, checking from behind the door to hear Sebastian's snores. When she was convinced that he was in a deep sleep, she snuck into bed, laying on her side so that their backs were too each other.

**It was sort of a boring chapter, kind of a filler, sorry. Let's see if we can hit 50 reviews before the next chapter is up? I love feed back, your guys' opinions are extremely important to me!**

**Question of the chapter: Other than The Mortal Instruments series, what's another series you guys really like? Or even just a book? After TMI mine would probably be the book called 'The Winter Rose' by Jennifer Donnelly.**

**Till next time!**

**-tash.**


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